There seems to be a disconnect between cutting hair both "correctly" and "the way you like it" that was apparently lost on Herman.

Freaky, I just drove by this shop todday and noticed the sign.

That's a pretty common kitschy poster, easy to find in many salons. Pretty sure they have one at Ultralux Salon in Hermosa Beach (I'll check next time I'm there). Here it is in two different streams on Flickr (one taken in Berkeley, one in Seattle):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/92992467/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wesh/2424814722/

Another point is, although the poster says "Official hair styles for men and boys" it features no men of color, not to mention of the selections only the buzz cut in the lower left-hand corner would seem to suit suit most African American men's natural hair. It is a vintage poster, of course, but I'm afraid modern such media exist that commit similar errors.

I always interpreted those types of posters (magazines/books in women's salons) as "this is what we can do" not, "this is what society says you must have or else you are a hideous outcast."

I think it's interesting that nearly all of those hairstyles would look perfectly normal on a man today but I bet if we saw a poster with hairstyles meant for women from the era they'd all look extremely dated. I'd say all but the two styles on the bottom right of the poster are still in regular use today for men but women's styles change dramatically and quickly.

This reminds me of when I was younger, and my mom's hairdresser friend would ask me to pick a hairstyle out of the magazines on the table.

You folks pick funny things to care about.

The thing is that it's the people that actually care about this stuff a bit too much.
- depends on where you live, of course. When I moved from Finland to Spain I was really shocked how much negative comments, mean innuendo about my sexual orientation and angry staring I attracted on the streets, just because I'm a woman (and a foreigner) with a bit different haircut. I have a short hair except my (usually neatly braced) mohawk, no shocking colors or anything, but apparently I'm still a bit too much for these people, even though my style of clothes is totally mainstream. In my own culture commenting the looks of total strangers aloud on the street is considered to be extremely rude, since it's everybody's own business how they look like. But here I am a living proof of what you get if you brake the unwritten rules, and I'm surprised to see how narrow minded spanish people are when it comes to how women should look like.

If I would live here longer than a few months I would probably grow my hair longer, just to avoid being constantly insulted and stared at. For me the conservatism, the racism, the sexism and the intolerance of Spain are everyday life, just because of my haircut. My other long haired foreign-looking friends are not being insulted at all. This is totally ridiculous, and would probably have a good time laughing about this if this wouldn't be my life. Come on, it's just hair! I can only say that I'll be very happy to return to a country where I have much more freedom to be what I am and look the way I do.

The third from left on the bottom row is just fantastic. I would pay someone money to get that haircut today.

Longhair is the best choice. Short hair is for alienated and slaves - that even don't realize they are so!

Longhair is the best choice. Short hair is for alienated and slaves - that even don't realize they are so! I hope men can open their mindo for it! It's enough for so many mistaken concepts spread by armies, religion, false schools standards and so on!

"Sentenced to horrible hairstyles for possession of a penis."

I'm glad I was born in the Mid-70's, when even my father would have had long hair if he hadn't been balding. After trying out some horrible 80s hairstyles as a child, I decided to follow in my hippie uncle's footsteps in my teens, and I haven't had my hair butchered by anybody ever since. When I think the ends need a trim, I might end up with cutting it right under my shoulder blades if the damage is too much, but it hasn't been any shorter than that, since I have much more hair on my head than my father had at my age - I'm 35.

I just noted this image in a blog post about why sociologists don't talk about barbershops.

LISA, YOU ARE FULL OF HOOEY. DECONSTRUCTION IS A DISEASE. THE POSTER SERVED AS A MENU, TO HELP CUSTOMERS WHO MAKE UP THEIR MINDS ON HOW TO GET THEIR HAIR CUT. 

Deconstruction? A disease? She's a sociologist. She is supposed to look at what might appear to be meaningless or superficial things and see the deeper connections to realities about the society we live in that are not at all meaningless or superficial. Why would the poster choose to use the term "official hair styles" rather than simply "available hair styles", for example? There are reasons for the choice, and people like sociologists and sociolinguists can elucidate those reasons. Whether or not what they have to say interests you personally is another matter. And by the way, please don't shout.